OTTAWA – Canadian consumers currently have little recourse should they encounter problems with free online service providers like Skype, YouTube or Dropbox, says a new report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC).
The report, No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: Consumer Contracts and “Free” Services, highlights the growing disparity of interests between consumers and companies offering free services, specifically when those companies seek methods to monetize their “free” businesses. While consumer losses may not be financial, the use of their information poses challenges to personal privacy.
The report recommends updating current provincial consumer protection laws so they apply to those accessing free online services that monetize user-provided value; amending the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) to allow the Office of the Privacy Commissioner the ability to investigate and enforce elements of Canada’s privacy regime through fines or mandatory orders; and a statutory breach of confidence tort allowing a user to make a claim against web companies that unnecessarily use private information gathered on their website. The report also suggests creating methods to assess market power from a competition law perspective that can be applied to the online free services sector.
“Current legislative and regulatory regimes fail to provide sufficient protection to Canadians using free online services,” said PIAC’s executive director & general counsel John Lawford, in the report’s news release. “Consumers shouldn’t have to gamble with their privacy each time they wish to send an email, connect with family or use an online storage solution.”
